Do electric radiators use a lot of electricity? - Electric panel heaters vs oil filled radiators

In this video, Joe Robinson explores the difference between electric panel heaters and oil-filled radiators.

While you may be thinking it's the same energy regardless of the heating type - it's the controls and how the energy is supplied and delivered which can make a difference to the cost of electric heating.

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📹 Presented by
Joe Robinson - Technical editor - eFIXX
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#efixx​ #electricheating #electriciansquestions

[adamh]

15p a unit… Luxury. The stuff of dreams Joe!

[MAMDAVEM]

Hi Joe, to my mind since the conversion of electriciy to heat is 100% efficient, the amount of energy used is deteremined by the temperature set point, the size of the space you are heating and the degree of heat loss from that space (level of insulation etc). I agree that using a more sophisticated proportional (or even PID) type controller will give you more precise temperature control, it will not fudamentally change the amount of electricty used.

[andysims]

Against my advice my next door neighbour had his obsolete gas boiler replaced with Fisher electric heaters in each room.. This was during the spring.3 months later he wanted to sell the house. Every potential buyer was put off because of the electric heating. When he eventually sold it the new neighbours had the shock of there lives when they got the electric bill. Within mouths they had them ripped out and a new gas system fitted. These heaters had a very short life maybe 9 months max before ending up in a skip.
Another thing
. Anyone who’s old enough to remember video recorders will remember 90% of the population couldn’t even program them to record a simple .single program . Wind on 20 years 90% of the population haven’t a clue how to program these heaters and if they can they can’t be bothered. All they do is just switch them on and off.
In my workshop I have a old dimplex panel heater, it’s not used much but it’s got a mechanical time switch and a normal thermostat. How simple is that to set and use. Almost anyone can understand how to set it within seconds

[mra]

The issue that really gets mentioned is maximum demand. A larger house with 4/5 bedrooms, could easily have 10 heaters (20-25kW) . Add all the other demands like 9kW cooker, 3kW water heater, appliances, lights and the electric car charger point. Installation Demand after Diversity could easily exceed 100A. Would like to see a video how efixx would calculate max demand and calculate diversity.

[jeffeloso]

With better temperature control you can set the temperature lower and still feel comfortable, most of the time thereby saving money. It cuts out that cycle of feeling cold, the comfortable then hot, then comfortable and then cold again (although as the structure warms up the cold feeling gets less of course as it operates like a block storage heater). To get over the cold periods one would be tempted set the temperature up, so the cycle becomes comfortable, sweltering, comfortable, but very expensive. There are more heat losses too at higher temperatures. The problem with fan heaters is that the movement of air can give an apparent cooling effect, not to mention stirring up dust etc unless fitted with a filter. Well controlled and well distributed heating is the best.

[JJthrashing]

Oil radiators are controlled by thermostat and only use most electricity when switched on from cold after that the controlled by the thermostat set to the desired temperature, so how can they be the most inefficient electric heater ? Mine switches off when at suitable level then only comes back on if the room temperature drops, with fan heater the power is constantly on being most costly to run 🤷‍♂️

[OrganMusicYT]

I know of entire blocks of housing demolished because local councils decided to take out gas heating/enclosed coal fires and replace them with electric heating. The cost to run the heating was so high the people in them moved out and nobody would take them because they had electric heating. They ended up riddled with damp to the extent that it was cheaper to demolish them than refit.

[neiltrevatt]

The most cost efficient heater I think they call it a woolly hat and jumper

[nigelh]

Electric heating is expensive. May be OK for one heater in one room, but to think about a house running on electric heaters - wow! I can't imagine the bill for this!

[ShadowzGSD]

there is almost no difference in the energy used, the only difference is how quick they warm the room up. heaters are 100% efficient at what they do as they waste no energy (wasted energy is heat) a 2kw heater is a 2kw heater no matter what form. the most cost effective are fan and convector heaters as they give full heat instantly so lose less through natural heat loss through walls and ceilings while wasting time heating oil or such.

[eifionstores]

Let's get back to basics; the amount of heat you need to maintain a certain temperature is the heat needed to replaces losses through walls, floor, ceilings etc.
So all electric heaters will use the same amount of heat, the only difference is how they do it, convection, conduction, or radiation.
A gas boiler system has other losses such as through the flue, so is less efficient. However with electricity being about 4x the price of gas there is a lot of price reduction needed for electric to be economic! There are a lot of comparisons with well insulated rooms and electric, but any heating will be cheaper the better the insulation.

[ArthursHD]

Resistive heating generally is a bad idea. "100% efficiency" is misleading cause it only accounts for electricity conversion into heat. Many powerplants use fuel of some sort generating electricity and heat with ~30% and 60% efficiency respectively. Also, there are transmission losses of about ~5%
Other options would be: Passive solar heating, solar thermal heating, waste heat from various sources, heat pumps, CHP, or a combination of them :)

[effervescence]

The short answer is; No they use their rated input in electricity.

The trouble with panel heaters and oil filled is the price of the electricity as currently it's 4x more expensive than natural gas and 3 x more expense than Economy 7 tariffs per kw. I currently have a landlord failing SAPs because of these heaters as they're chugging £3 a day per room x 9 rooms (student let hence the SAPs rating). The uni advise installing E7 heaters but they were removed due complaints from previous students due to cold snaps and on/off controls with a thermostat being easier to use. So although technically efficient electric heating can be quite cost prohibitive at times. Depending on whether you want to heat a space or feel warm, radiant heating may well be a more cost effective route.

[essanjay]

Who wouldn't have electric everything given a choice? No clunky boiler which has to be maintained, no pipes full of water running all over your house with the potential for leaks, no messy hob to be cleaned in your kitchen. Let's face it burning gas is pretty archaic.

[johnburns]

Gas is *not* being phased out. Just a suggestion. There is also a suggestion of using the extensive gas distribution pipework for hydrogen burning domestic appliances. The city of Leeds was suggested as a trial.

Electricity is the future. What will make it feasible is PV panels and Powerwall types of batteries. Of course backed up by superinsulated homes, not needing much heat input to start with.

[aspetm]

Well done mate as you given a valuable knowledge of electric heaters.

[busman]

Down here in good old NZ we've been heating our homes electrically and heating our water the same way for years. The average power bill at the end of last winter for me was about $230.00, per month. Now I am not sure how that works out to Pounds, shillings and pence. However that was fairly reasonable considering how cold and damp it was. An average household/ family might pay $400.00 per month. We just learn to deal with it. We too are becoming energy wise and using solar and wind, but more from an ecological stand point.

[alunroberts]

I had a similar discussion with electric shower was being told that a 7kw shower on low uses less energy. I say to them not true they say the water comes out colder so must use less. But it is the speed of the water threw the small tank. No I was not speaking to the shower was speaking about one. Not with one.

[richardlyons]

Electric is a licence to print money, for the energy suppliers.

[Reprogrammed_By_SEGA]

Only fix is cheaper electric rates. There is no electric heater magic, they are 100% efficient. Insulating your home to the point air tightness is pretty much garbage too, you just end up with mould and bacteria growth combined with breathing in your own CO2. There is probably some merit in infrared panel heaters as they don't heat the air, but how to apply them is another question.